$100 million Rolls-Royce recall

[csv8]

$100 million Rolls-Royce recall
DRIVE Joshua Dowling
April 25, 2012 - 2:04PM
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Almost every car sold in Australia over past 10 years gets called back for a safety fault.

Super-luxury brand Rolls-Royce is recalling almost every car sold in Australia over the past 10 years – with a combined value of close to $100 million – in one case because the brakes could fail, in another because the car could catch fire.

The recalls are a major embarrassment to the iconic brand, so paranoid about its image it once insisted its cars be covered if they are ever put on a tow truck, and banned owners from lifting the bonnet of a stranded car.

The recalls affect approximately 74 of the company's flagship Phantom sedan, coupe and convertible models sold between 2003 and 2009, and approximately 36 of its Ghost sedans sold between 2009 and 2011.

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According to a bulletin issued overnight by Product Safety Recalls Australia, under the umbrella of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the $645,000 Ghost is being recalled because: "If the turbo cooling pump cracks, the pump electronics may smoulder, possibly causing an engine compartment fire or a vehicle fire."

At the same time, the agency issued a notice that the Phantom range – each model priced between $1 million and $1.35 million – was being recalled. It said: "[Because of] the possibility of oil entering the brake booster, there may be a reduction in power braking assistance and an increased chance of an accident occurring."

Rolls-Royce says no incidents have been reported, nevertheless it has been told by authorities to carry out the repair work, which will be done at no cost to customers.

The Phantom recall sounds eerily similar to a recall issued for the BMW 7-Series in 2010. That vehicle shares many of its components with the Phantom (BMW bought Rolls-Royce in 1998).

But as yet there is no explanation for the 18-month delay in notifying Rolls-Royce customers of the similar problem.

The 24 April 2012 statement from the federal government’s recalls agency about the Phantom problem says: “Engine oil from the brake vacuum pump may enter the brake vacuum line, possibly allowing oil to enter the brake booster”.

The 4 October 2010 statement from the recalls agency about the BMW 7-Series problem says: “Engine oil from the brake vacuum pump may enter the brake vacuum line. In some cases, it is possible that after a period of time oil may enter the brake booster”.

[Bundy2]

That will hurt them

[BadMax]

wow. 100 cars in Australia...I'm sure Fox and the likes really care. Most people with obscene amounts of money just want it fixed with very little fuss, it's the mum 'n' dad's who are mortgaged to the hilt in their new FPV/HSV who carry on the most.

[UberKnee]

Most people with a Roller will just go out and buy a brand new one...

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Bundy2

That will hurt them

Doubt it, they'll fix 100 cars with minimal fuss.

Owner's will just get their personal Assistant to arrange for the car to get repaired while they just drive the S-Class Merc for a few days instead.

Shame the weather is cooler as it would have been nice to take the Convertible Bentley to the office while the Roller is in the shop.

[UberKnee]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Doubt it, they'll fix 100 cars with minimal fuss.

Owner's will just get their personal Assistant to arrange for the car to get repaired while they just drive the S-Class Merc for a few days instead.

Shame the weather is cooler as it would have been nice to take the Convertible Bentley to the office while the Roller is in the shop.

Exactly...hell half the owners will have to be reminded they even own that particular Rolls Royce in amongst all their Bentlys and S-Class's.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Bundy2

That will hurt them

Well they could carry on and refuse to fix them, claim there is no problem and wait for the things to fail/catch fire.

Then put up with angry people on forums bagging out the company because the car failed.

[csv8]

Originally Posted by UberKnee

Exactly...hell half the owners will have to be reminded they even own that particular Rolls Royce in amongst all their Bentlys and S-Class's.

and Lambo's, Astons etc !!!!!

[mik]

notice these little sentence`s.

nevertheless it has been told by authorities to carry out the repair work, which will be done at no cost to customers.

But as yet there is no explanation for the 18-month delay in notifying Rolls-Royce customers of the similar problem.

just goes to prove even the revered marques have the issues the same as the cheaper mass produced ones.

[BadMax]

Originally Posted by mik

notice these little sentence`s.
just goes to prove even the revered marques have the issues the same as the cheaper mass produced ones.

Show me a brand which is infallible...

[DJR-351]

csv8 thanks for the heads up.......my regular driver is on leave at the moment, but i shall get the butler and the maid to drop them both in....ta

[Stagg]

100 odd cars between 2003 and 2009... and yet the dealers had to keep up with costs of dealership premises and keep bills paid etc...

How much money do those guys make for every car if they kept in business only selling 100 cars??

[Dave R]

Ooooh wow, Rolls Royce, $100 million combined value.... that's tiny as far as average recalls go, why make it the headline of the article? A normal month of Falcon/Territory sales is worth more than that.

[BHDOGS]

Joshua dowlings best artice ever not a ford mention in site superb

[foxtrot3]

Originally Posted by Stagg1991

100 odd cars between 2003 and 2009... and yet the dealers had to keep up with costs of dealership premises and keep bills paid etc...

How much money do those guys make for every car if they kept in business only selling 100 cars??

Hi. I think the RR term is "adequate", the same as the power ratings. Cheers MD

[2011G6E]

I see they wheel out the old urban legend about RR's being "covered when towed" and "owners banned from opening the bonnet of broken down cars"...

Nice to see some things last...that old chestnut has been around since the old days. I saw a reasonably new (new shape anyway) RR on a low loader in Brisbane a while back.

The recall just goes to show no matter how much you pay, it's a mechanical device prone to faults...a very well put together and finely crafted one, but still doesn't exempt it from breakdowns or production faults...

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Stagg1991

100 odd cars between 2003 and 2009... and yet the dealers had to keep up with costs of dealership premises and keep bills paid etc...

How much money do those guys make for every car if they kept in business only selling 100 cars??

They wouldn't be stand alone dealerships I don't think, and there's probably only 3 or 4 dealerships in the country anyway, in the big capitals. These dealerships usually always sell other luxury marques like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley etc.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

They wouldn't be stand alone dealerships I don't think, and there's probably only 3 or 4 dealerships in the country anyway, in the big capitals. These dealerships usually always sell other luxury marques like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley etc.

True, there's only 2 Rolls Dealers in Australia and the Melb one sells Astons as well plus the Trivett group I think sells 11 brands in total Australia-wide....and McLaren's only Aust. dealer, lol

[FG50T]

The turbo coolant pump is the same one thats on current Mini's - all have been recalled on them too. The brake booster hose is the same recall thats been applied to all mid 2000 BMW V8's.

[mik]

Originally Posted by BadMax

Show me a brand which is infallible...

hehe , have`nt come across one yet.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Well they could carry on and refuse to fix them, claim there is no problem and wait for the things to fail/catch fire.

Then put up with angry people on forums bagging out the company because the car failed.

Nah it wouldn't get bagged. It's not a ford.

[MWTB]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Well they could carry on and refuse to fix them, claim there is no problem and wait for the things to fail/catch fire.

Then put up with angry people on forums bagging out the company because the car failed.

Reminds me of the quote from Fight Club...

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by MWTB

Reminds me of the quote from Fight Club...

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

Which is exactly what Ford did with the Pinto in the 70's, when they went up in flames during a rear end collision. It worked out being cheaper to pay the lawsuits than to put a petrol tank guard on everyone built to stop the fuel tank splitting.

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Which is exactly what Ford did with the Pinto in the 70's, when they went up in flames during a rear end collision. It worked out being cheaper to pay the lawsuits than to put a petrol tank guard on everyone built to stop the fuel tank splitting.

The barbecue that seats four.

I want a Pinto, I love the things. Pintos are Epic.

[MWTB]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Which is exactly what Ford did with the Pinto in the 70's, when they went up in flames during a rear end collision. It worked out being cheaper to pay the lawsuits than to put a petrol tank guard on everyone built to stop the fuel tank splitting.

Really? Wow. I don't know if that Fight Club quote is a clever reference or not (probably because I only just found out about that Pinto issue), but that's a very disturbing fact!

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by MWTB

Really? Wow. I don't know if that Fight Club quote is a clever reference or not (probably because I only just found out about that Pinto issue), but that's a very disturbing fact!

Back in those days they all would have done the same thing, corporate responsibility wasn't thought much of. It all came down to the dollar.

I'm not 100% on this but I think things didn't change until Ralph Nader released his book, "Unsafe at any Speed", that put the blowtorch on manufacturers to change their ways and stop building unsafe cars and not bothering to fix them, to just pay the lawsuits if anyone died or was injured as a result.

[donizgood]

over rated peice of junk

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by donizgood

over rated peice of junk

What, the Rolls Royce or the Pinto?

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by donizgood

over rated peice of junk

Quality posting sir, well done!

[Romulus]

Oh, Oh....I hope RR aren't building their vehicles to the same standards as their Trent aircraft engines. RR paid $100 million to Qantas as compensation due to the mid-air explosion of one their Trent engines and the subsequent loss to QF.

The engine faulire too was caused by a cracked oil pipe......